


Strangers Like Me

by Avenging_is_My_Day_Job



Series: MCU Reader Fics [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: And other nerd stuff, Bonding over Star Wars, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Recovering, F/M, Fluff, No Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 04:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9801977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avenging_is_My_Day_Job/pseuds/Avenging_is_My_Day_Job
Summary: You get back to the compound after a month long mission, and meet the newest resident. Nobody ever tells you anything.





	1. Chapter 1

Late in the night - or perhaps the early hours of the morning - you trudged through the common area of the compound, your bag slung over your shoulder and the key to your car still clutched in your other hand. The others weren’t around, and the only sound that occupied the wide open space was your own footsteps.

You dropped the bag at your feet, halfway through the main room, and beelined for the kitchen, hunger outweighing the desire to sleep. Not bothering with any lights, you made your way to your destination and rifled through the refrigerator for any leftover food, finding pizza (yay!) and just enough of your favorite drink left for a glass, and collected your bounty. 

It was junk food, and was probably days old, but it was a wholesome reprieve from the mission rations you’d been trying to accustom yourself to for the last month. You hadn’t even heated it yet ( _and were considering just eating it cold_ ), but even the idea of it was more pleasant than the bland meals from your most recent mission.

As you sat on the counter, sipping your drink and waiting for the microwave to finish its job, the sound of someone else entering the room drew your attention from your intended meal.

Looking over your right shoulder at the door, you saw no one there, nor in the vicinity of it. Still aware of another presence in the room, you then looked over your left, and startled slightly. The only person on the team that could move that quickly was Natasha, but this clearly wasn’t Natasha. From the outline in the darkness, your next idea was Steve, but that didn’t seem quite right either. 

His back was to you, either unaware of your presence, or simply un-intimidated by it, and was quietly sifting through the pantry. 

Tired from your travel, you sighed and slid off the counter, flipping on the light switch. The stranger turned, and in the light, you could see him much better. 

You were looking right at the Winter Soldier.

Neither of you spoke, and he looked you over warily, and left soon after, empty handed. When your food was done, you grabbed it and went to eat in the living room while you caught up on your shows.

The next afternoon, after sleeping the rest of the night and most of the day, you arrived in the common area to find most of the team, minus one brainwashed ex-assassin. 

“Hey, you’re back!” Tony was the first to acknowledge your arrival. “How long does it take to hunt down and apprehend two dozen Hydra loyalists?”

“Probably a lot longer than a month,” You quipped, “But this year has been pretty good for me so far.“ You paused. “So, I see that we have a new house guest.”

“Right!” Steve exclaimed. “If I’d known you were coming back so soon, I would have told you. We found Bucky.”

_That’s it?_

“How long has he been here?”

“Just over a week.” Steve said.

Clint, having been distracted by making dinner, piped in. “When did you meet him? The rest of us haven’t seen him at all since Cap brought him in.”

“I didn’t really meet him. He was just kind of… _there_ ,then he left.”

“Believable.” Clint said.

Everything quieted down eventually, and you perched on a barstool to sort through your work stuff on your laptop. You were only halfway through the post-mission report, and had already been notified that you were benched for fifteen days, a mandatory procedure following long-term ops. 

The rest of the day went about as normal as it could, considering the circumstances. After planning your next training routines, you sparred with Natasha, retrieved your weapon upgrades from the lab, went for a two hour walk through the brisk autumn afternoon, and returned to an almost empty compound.

“Friday, where are the others?”

“Mr. Stark and Doctor Banner are in the lab, Ms Maximoff and Vision departed for a date night, and Agents Barton and Romanov have left for SHIELD headquarters for a mission briefing.” The AI chimed.

“Thanks.”

It was getting late, and the stillness of the afternoon reflected inside the compound. With everyone either busy or gone, the corridors were quiet, and walking through them was like arriving the night before. It wasn’t cold and unwelcoming, but it was lonely. The reality of being superheroes meant little downtime, no attacks meant more time being spent on upgrades and training. Allotted time off varied. For you, now, it was the required fifteen days post mission. The others, however, still had work to do.

After taking a shower and changing into something more comfortable than your workout clothes, you headed down to the living room with a book, and once again, found the newest resident.

He was sitting on one of the sofas, with files and books spread out on the cushions and the coffee table around them. A quick glance revealed that the books were each a history book of some kind, or biographies, and the one of the files sported the word acclimation on the label.   
Bucky looked up at you as you passed, and you considered turning back, but he didn’t protest you staying. You sat down in an arm chair, laying the book on your lap.

“I’m (Y/N), by the way.” You finally said.

He nodded, just barely, and went back to reading.

You opened your own book, reading through the introduction, but not able to make it past the first chapter without your thoughts drifting back toward the ex-assassin sitting across the room. The fact that you had seen him around more than anyone else on the team, barring Steve, baffled you.

“Did SHIELD give you those?” You asked. He glanced up, but didn’t respond. He looked curious, rather than bothered or irritated.

“I mean, there’s a faster way to catch up if you don’t want to bother with all of that. Books are great and all, but a lot has happened since…well…” You stopped, mentally berating yourself and hoping that what you just said hadn’t been too insensitive.

“Okay, hold on.” You said, getting up. When you came back, you had your Starkpad with you.

“You can use the internet to look up basically anything you can think of.” You held it out, and Bucky took it with his right hand, examining the screen. 

“You can read up on historical data, or research pop culture, but if there’s a movie or a biopic that you want to watch, it would probably be easier to see if there’s a copy here somewhere…”

“Why?”

“What?” Surprised, you stopped. 

“You want to help me. Why?” Bucky asked.

“Why not?”

You could only imagine what he thought of himself, but he wasn’t alone. Everyone on the team had a story.

“How about we start with something fun. Star Wars?” You asked.

“Steve told me about that one.” Bucky said quietly.

“Actually, there’s seven.” You held back a laugh at the look on his face.

“Friday, can you pull up A New Hope for us?”

“Of course, Ms (L/N).”


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a few days since your first interaction with the elusive Bucky Barnes, and the others had officially become curious. The morning after your impromptu Star Wars binge, which only spanned the original trilogy, you woke on the sofa, covered by a blanket and alone. The book you had intended to read was sitting on the coffee table, moved from where you discarded it a few hours prior.

You had trudged into the kitchen, clutching the blanket around your shoulders and poured yourself some coffee, watching as the rest of the team ( _sans Barton and Romanov_ ) filed in. Steve was the first to arrive followed closely by Tony, and approached you first, holding out a tablet for you to take.

That was _your_ tablet. And the screen was cracked.

“What happened?” You asked.

“He accidentally broke it.”

“Oh,” You breathed. “I probably should have mentioned that these aren’t touch sensitive to metal, huh?” Steve smirked.

Tony, having been previously preoccupied with making some odd looking breakfast concoction - _maybe an omelet_ \- saw the broken tablet.

“Who? Robocop? How did he get _your_ tablet?”

“There’s this wonderful concept called _sharing_ ,” You said, earning an indignant look from the genius.

“Did you talk?” Steve asked, curiously.

“Only a little,” You said. “We watched Star Wars.”

“He won’t even come out here during the day,” Tony started, and ignored Steve’s muttered reply of _He’s adjusting_ , “But you’ve already got him watching movies?”

You shrugged. “After we finish the Star Wars saga, I think we should start on Disney.“

Wanda, who had arrived moments after the conversation began and looked as tired as you still felt, interjected. “What about history…the important parts?”

“I gave him a reading list,” Steve said.

“Considering the influence that Hydra had over the _important parts_ , that might not be a good idea.”

* * *

Later in the day, once everyone else had dispersed, Bucky was back in the the area, just as you suspected. You brandished you repaired tablet, courtesy of Stark, and smiled.

“It’s shatterproof now.”

“Sorry.” Bucky muttered.

“It’s cool. I dropped it two days after I got it so…” You trailed off, holding the tablet out to him.He took it, holding it carefully in his flesh hand.

“You up for another Star Wars binge?” You asked, casually, flopping down into your ‘reading’ chair.

Bucky seemed to think about it for a moment, then shook his head. You frowned, expecting to be sent away.

“I want to go outside.” He finally said, quietly, looking down.

“We can do that.” You said, happily. If the ghost of a smile crossed his face, you didn’t say anything.

The urge to ask if he’d been outside at all since arriving came and went, as you felt you already knew the answer. Going for a walk wouldn’t be any trouble, and if Steve gave you a hard time for it, then you’d tell him to shove off. Even brooding Winter Soldiers needed some fresh air once in a while.

The compound itself sat on several acres of secluded land, and offered several walking paths that had been added after the old warehouses had been converted into the new facility.

Your favorite path happened to be the most tranquil. It started just outside of the living quarters, went beyond the lawn and extended through several patches of trees. Even in the late afternoon, it was still a peaceful, soothing sight. You both remained silent for the duration of the walk, only returning to the living quarters when the afternoon faded to dusk.

* * *

After a week of silent walks and space-movie saga binging had passed, Bucky started opening up. You saw him around more often, starting with breakfast one morning, when he silently slipped into the room and pointedly ignored the rest of the team’s confused stares. He sat beside Steve, but close enough to you that if you spoke, he would hear. The tension in the room was palpable.

A few moments later, the oven timer went off, drawing attention away. The others went about breakfast, almost as usual, only much quieter. You sighed, throwing a look Steve’s way. Relief that his friend had made progress was evident in his expression, but he still looked dismayed that the others -in both your opinions- had not.

One by one, the team departed, leaving behind not only the three of you, but the uncomfortable silence. You wanted to say something, to assure your newfound companion that they weren’t usually this distrusting, but no words came to mind.

“This is ridiculous.” Cap said, suddenly.

“Steve, it’s not important.” Bucky muttered.

“The hell it isn’t.” Steve retorted. “They shouldn’t…”

“Steve,” You interrupted gently, “This situation isn’t…ideal, but it is to be expected. Remember when I first joined the team?”

Steve sobered immediately. “I just think that they should make more of an effort.”

You smiled. “Like you did? Look, just give it time.”

Steve didn’t seem to like that answer, but he knew you were right.

* * *

“What the _hell_ , Barnes? This is the fourth time! _What the hell_?!” You sat back, wearing an expression of utter disbelief. Bucky was smiling. Actually, it was more of a smug grin than a genuine smile. Definitely a smug grin.

You were once again together in the living room. Only, instead of Star Wars being the entertainment of choice, it was Mario kart. A _video game_. For the fourth time since starting the game, your screen flashed with colorful letters spelling out your loss whilst Bucky once again placed fourth.

“Do superior gaming skills come with being a supersoldier?”

Determined to beat him, you went on to the next race but paused it when you turned and saw the contemplative look on his face.

“I was joking about the supersoldier thing.” You said softly.

“I know.”

“Anything you want to talk about?” You asked casually.

“Earlier…what happened when you joined the team?”

“ _Oh_.” You breathed. “It’s only fair you know my story, since I know yours.”

“You don’t have to.” He said back.

“It’s okay though.“ You paused, searching for the right way to word what you were about to say.

“I wasn’t always a good person. A few years ago, Nat was on a mission to intercept me, but recruited me instead. Once Shield was sure I was safe, they added me to the team roster. No one on the team trusted me except Nat. Especially Cap.”

“What changed that?” Bucky asked.

“Don’t go and try this, but I took a bullet for him. He showed up at the infirmary and apologized. When I got back, the others started interacting with me more often.”

Bucky nodded.

“My point is,” you continued, “Even after that, it was still weeks before they were comfortable around me.”

“Did they trust you?”

“Not right away.” You admitted.

Sure enough, with the coming weeks Bucky started coming to more meals, and spent more time around the others, even if it was just as a quiet presence sticking closer to you or Steve. At Steve’s suggestion, he even started training with all of you.

However, the culmination of yours and Steve’s efforts to acquaint Bucky with the rest of the team didn’t come until two months after your arrival at the compound.

‘Family Nights’ had long ago been implemented by Stark after convincing the others that they would serve as effective team building exercises. They usually consisted of video games, movies, the occasional board game ( _monopoly and jenga were permanently banned from the premises_ ). This would be the first time that Bucky participated, and if anybody asked, the whole thing was his idea.

* * *

The evening started with the usual disagreement over what was going to happen. Wanda, Bruce, Sam, Vision, and Steve were all neutral parties, simply sitting aside and waiting for a decision to be reached. Natasha and Clint thought that team training exercises were more befitting, Thor thought that a night _out_ would do everyone some good, Tony wanted to marathon a bunch of cheesy sci-fi horror films, and you were mysteriously absent.

Over all the chatter, Friday announced: “ _Ms (L/N) is incoming from the east wing, and Sergeant Barnes is in pursuit._ ”

“We knew that already.” Clint snarked before returning to the argument at hand. There was a lull before Friday spoke again.

“ _I meant, Agent Barton, that he is_ chasing _her_.”

The whole room fell silent.

Seconds later, you ran through the sliding doors that Friday had opened for you, in full gear, and dashed across the room, expertly flipping over the couch and crouching behind it. Not far behind you was Bucky, also in full gear. Thor moved to stand between you and the door to block Bucky, but he was easily pushed aside with Bucky’s cybernetic arm. You rose from your hiding spot just as Bucky raised his weapon.

The next thirty seconds passed in slow motion. Thor picked himself up, Tony called for his suit, and Natasha swept Bucky’s legs out from under him, but by then the damage had been done.

Steve doubled over laughing, followed by Sam and Clint, because you were now on the floor with a foam dart perfectly centered on your forehead. Still on the ground, Bucky shot Steve next, then the both of you jumped to your feet to continue the chase.

“Friday!” You called.

“ _There are spare nerf guns and foam ammunition hidden throughout the common area and the main floor_.” She informed.

The others sought out the proffered weapons then split up into teams to find strategic ‘bases’.

Like you suspected he would, Bucky joined Cap’s team, so you planned to locate the other and join them. As you walked away, though, Bucky gently took your hand and tugged you back toward the makeshift base that Team Cap had established in the gym.


End file.
